In 1939 however it was René Vietto who finally became second after Sylvère Maes!There was an heroic fight during the 15th stage at the slopes of the Col d'Izoard where Vietto lost his Yellow Jersey.Sylvère Maes arrived in Briançon with an advantage of 17 min and would enlarge that to 30min 38sec in Paris.

Below an article that speculates on the succes of René Vietto in 1940

What if? René Vietta had not suffered a severe Cold in RoyanAnd if the weather had been not so bad?

In 1947 René Vietto was much older and the good days as a climber were over.
He became 5th in 1947 at 15min 23sec